


The Musings of a Shadow

by writingfanficlikeabus



Series: The Legend of Zelda: Across the Ages [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 19:41:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4534875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingfanficlikeabus/pseuds/writingfanficlikeabus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shadow Link is fascinated by Vio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Musings of a Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> The Legend of Zelda series is property of Nintendo.

Shadow Link was fascinated by Vio. He always seemed calmer that the others. More mature. He was never unsure. Though Shadow was loathe to use the word in reference to any of the hero's four facets, he almost found Vio's quiet determination...admirable. And he felt sure that Vio had cast some kind of spell around himself, for the hero was a light that Shadow was drawn to, despite his disgust at the very word.

Once he started having the dreams, the dreams where they won and Vio ruled by his side, he decided very firmly that neither Lord Vaati nor Lord Ganon was going to hear anything more about that particular hero from _him_. When it came to Vio, he could not rely on his mouth to say the appropriate words. However, that didn't change the fact that he had a job to do, and as he followed the Heroes of the Four Sword around, he found his eyes focusing on Vio more and more. Soon, he had to struggle to tear them away from him.

What had started out as a simple chore, spying on and delaying the heroes as they tried to reach Zelda, became a pleasure. He loved to see Vio musing, eating, smiling, reading. He loved to watch the slight muscles on his wiry frame flex as they fought; it was almost worth the pain of being killed again, dragged from the Dark Mirror into the burning light again. Yet...the light seemed to hurt less now, somehow. Especially the light surrounding Vio. That felt like a warmth he had never known before, and he was not quite sure which of them it was coming from. He was almost tempted to visit Zelda in her crystal prison and ask what she knew of this kind of thing, but he also knew that one who possessed the Triforce of Wisdom wouldn't be fooled with the "so I have this friend" approach. As far as he could tell, _no-one_  had ever been fooled with that approach.

Besides, he didn't _have_ any friends. Vio was the closest thing, and he _hated_ Shadow. But there was still a nagging thought at the back of his mind. _Maybe if he got to know me better, he might want to kiss me._ Shadow blinked in shock from his perch high on Death Mountain. Kiss? When had _that_ happened? When had it gone from "you seem cool, let's hang out" to "I want to touch your lips to mine. There may be some tongue involved"? Maybe it had happened a long while ago. Shadow had to remind himself that he had never gone through what he called "the friend experience"; he had no clue what the appropriate feelings between Just Friends were.

These thoughts only served to fuel his curiosity. One day, with no clue as to why he did it, he left a flower on Vio's sleeping bag. They were in a barren part of the land, and so he had taken the trouble to go all the way to the green groves of the Lost Woods and ask the Deku Scrubs for it. They had agreed ("anything for a servant of Lord Ganon") and given him the flower without so much as asking for its purpose. From there, he placed it on top of the bag whilst the heroes were searching for water and wood. They had left Red on guard duty, but he was tired and so had fallen asleep, the crimson hat that had flopped over his face lifting every time he breathed out.

Shadow watched nervously from a nearby vantage point as Vio returned. Strangely, although his heart was beating faster than ever, he could not help but think how much the purple of his uniform suited Vio. He had made special care to make sure the flower matched for that very reason. It was a nice flower too. Rare. Vio was sure to be intrigued by it. At least, he hoped.

When Vio reached his sleeping bag, he noticed the flower, frowned, picked it up, looked around, and finally smiled with a shrug. It was just a small smile, but it made Shadow happier than he had ever been.

On the day Shadow realised what would happen if the Four Sword was put back in its pedestal, he cried. It was a really inopportune moment as well, because he was doing his long overdue "you can't possibly win" speech to Zelda, on one of his few days back at the Palace of Winds. All of a sudden, as his mind wandered, he remembered something that he had forgotten about with everything that had happened: the Four Sword only split its wielder into four so long as he did just that: wield it. As if that wasn't bad enough, tears started spilling from his eyes. _And_ Zelda looked concerned. She wasn't supposed to worry about him-he had kidnapped her! So he made a pathetic excuse (why was he excusing himself? He was her captor!) and left the room.

Shadow mulled over the inescapable fact. Vio was only one part of a whole, but he was the only part Shadow cared about. If they rescued Zelda, he would be reabsorbed into the annoying hero known as Link. All of this seemed inescapable. He needed more time. He needed to delay them more. He needed Vio, something which he hadn't realised until he had been exposed to him. But powerful as he was, powerful as his _master_ was, he knew deep down inside that he could never feel the fullness of that warmth. That warm light he craved so much could never be fully his, for he was a being of darkness, and to be exposed to it was death.

 

 


End file.
